It’s panda-monium at the National Zoo where twin panda cubs were just born!

It’s time to break out your panda emojis, everyone! Because Mei Xiang, one of the giant pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC has given birth to a pair of panda twins. Not only are they the cutest things we’ve seen (each one is the size of a stick of butter!), but their arrival was a bit of a surprise.

Mei was artificially inseminated on April 26 and again on April 27, but her pregnancy wasn’t officially confirmed until just a few days ago. Zoo officials have been keeping a close on eye on her and hoping for a cub. Giant pandas are the rarest members of the bear family (and might we add, the CUTEST?!) and are classified as an endangered species (sniffle). There are less than 1,800 of them left in the wild, so zoos and conservation groups are actively trying to save them. Unfortunately, panda mating and breeding is a notoriously complex process (panda relationship status: It’s complicated).

So when the panda team at the National Zoo began seeing changes in Mei’s reproductive system on July 9, the excitement began. They made the announcement on social media and encouraged everyone to follow along with the hashtag #pandastory.